MATCH NOTES - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

KRISTINA MLADENOVIC (FRA #45) vs. [2] (NED #8)

Head to Head: KIKI BERTENS leads 1-0

2016 FED CUP WEEK 2 CLAY I R1 KIKI BERTENS 7-5 6-4

KRISTINA MLADENOVIC KIKI BERTENS 45 WTA RANKING 8 43 PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD 9 14-05-1993 (26) DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) 10-12-1991 (27) $1,422,870 YTD PRIZE MONEY $3,079,346 $10,424,298 CAREER PRIZE MONEY $9,601,470 0 / 1 SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 2 / 9 2 / 21 DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 10 6-5 MOSCOW W-L (MD) * 1-1 26-23 / 194-197 YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * 51-23 / 205-156 9-6 / 63-60 YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * 16-12 / 58-59 3-6 / 47-52 YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * 11-12 / 44-50 16-15 / 108-126 YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * 25-15 / 89-99 2-4 / 11-18 YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * 8-2 / 24-11 2-3 / 8-11 YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * 4-3 / 10-12 3-5 / 15-25 YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * 7-3 / 22-23 5-6 / 32-54 YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * 10-7 / 33-43 * Updated entering 2019 Moscow QF

ROAD TO THE QUARTERFINALS

KRISTINA MLADENOVIC (FRA #45) [2] KIKI BERTENS (NED #8) R16: d. [6] (LAT #24) 7-5,3-6,6-3 (2h15) R16: d. (EST #109) 4-6,6-3,7-5 (2h17) R32: d. (KAZ #34) 6-4,3-6,6-2 (2h01) R32: BYE

Total games: 57 Total games: 31 Won/lost: 31-26 Won/lost: 17-14 Sets won/lost: 4-2 Sets won/lost: 2-1 Total time on court: 4h16 Total time on court: 2h17 Average time on court: 2h08 Average time on court: 2h17 Average rank of opponent: 29 Average rank of opponent: 109

MOSCOW Tournament History

KRISTINA MLADENOVIC KIKI BERTENS 2018 2018 R16 L - (EST #21) 6-2 7-6(3) R16 L - (BLR #31) 6-3 4-6 6-3

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MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

2017 R16 L - ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH (BLR #100) 6-2 2-6 6-2

2016 R16 L - TIMEA BABOS (HUN #26) 6-1 6-4 2015 R16 L - (RUS #66) 6-2 6-3

2014 R16 L - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (CZE #128) 6-1 6-1

MLADENOVIC:

Moscow

 Making sixth consecutive appearance at Moscow, where she is through to QF for the first time  Fell R16 again on each of her previous visits, including as top seed in 2017 (after 1r bye, l. Sasnovich)  In 1r on Tuesday, broke serve four times to see off Putintseva  Upset No.6 seed Sevastova in 3s in 2r – first time she has won back-to-back three-set matches since 2017 Roland Garros QF run  Has now advanced to seven QF in 2019, having only reached that stage three times in 2018  Faces No.8 Bertens in QF today. Owns three Top 10 wins in 2019, over No.1 Osaka (Dubai), No.9 Barty (Rome) and No.3 Svitolina (Zhengzhou)  Is sole Frenchwomen in this year’s starting field. Best result by one of her compatriots in the Russian capital were title runs by Pierce (1998, 2005) and Tauziat (1999)  Top seed in doubles this week w/Babos (faces Flipkens/Mattek-Sands in SF later today). Pair will be one of eight teams competing at the upcoming Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen

Season

 Coming off QF run at Linz (l. Alexandrova)  During Asian swing, made first WTA SF in 18 months, at Zhengzhou (l. Martic). Also reached 2r at Beijing (l. Kvitova) and fell 1r at Osaka (l. Doi) and Wuhan (l. Martic)  Made 2r at US Open (d. No.14 Kerber, l. Ferro)  Suffered 1r exits at Cincinnati (l. Kontaveit) and Toronto (l. Kasatkina)  Grass season included 2r exit at Wimbledon (l. Kvitova) following 1r loss at Birmingham (l. Rodina) and QF visit in Nottingham (l. Vekic)  Fell 2r at Roland Garros (l. Martic)  Enjoyed QF run at Rome (as qualifier, l. Sakkari); upset No.15 Bencic and No.9 Barty en route to record third and fourth Top 20 wins of the season  2r showing at Madrid (as qualifier, l. Kvitova)  Reached QF at Monterrey (l. Muguruza) and Istanbul (l. eventual champion Martic in longest match of year to date – 3h 18m)

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 Won 20th career doubles title at Istanbul (w/Babos)  Member of French Fed Cup team that defeated Romania to advance to competition final against Australia in November (l. Halep in sole singles rubber contested; combined w/Garcia to defeat Halep/Niculescu in decisive doubles rubber)  Fell 2r at Indian Wells (l. Osaka) and 1r at Miami (l. Y.Wang)  Made 2r exit at Indian Wells 125K series event (l. Bacsinszky) after 1r bye  In Middle East contested Dubai, and posted her first win over a reigning World No.1, defeating Osaka in 2r en route to R16 (l. Suarez Navarro)  Had previously lost both matches against reigning No.1s, vs. S.Williams at 2016 Roland Garros and Kerber at 2016 Wuhan  Is first French woman to defeat the World No.1 player since Cornet d. S.Williams at 2014 Wuhan (via ret.)  Began 2019 with 1r exits in Brisbane (l. Aiava), Sydney qualifying (l. Birrell), (l. Vekic) and St Petersburg (l. Ostapenko)  Sydney marked first time in qualifying since 2015 Rome (d. Falconi and Puig to reach main draw). Was first qualifying loss since 2015 Madrid (l. Doi)  As defending champion in doubles at Australian Open (w/Babos), reached final again in 2019, however lost out to Stosur/Zhang

Career

 Season highlights in 2018 were R-Up finish as St Petersburg (as defending champion, l. Kvitova in F) and matching her best career result at Wimbledon by reaching 3r (l. eventual R-Up S. Williams)  In doubles in 2018, won second career doubles title at Australian Open (w/Babos) – defeated Makarova/Vesnina in F. Also finished doubles R-Up at Flushing Meadows York (w/Babos, l. Barty/Vandeweghe) and ended campaign by lifting WTA Finals crown w/Babos (d. Krejcikova/Siniakova in F)  Owns seven Top 5 career wins, over No.2 Li (2014 Roland Garros), No.3 Halep (2015 Birmingham), No.3 Ka.Pliskova (2017 Dubai), No.4 Halep (2017 Indian Wells), No.2 Kerber (2017 Stuttgart), No.5 Muguruza (2017 Roland Garros) and No.1 Osaka (2019 Dubai)  Enjoyed best season of career in 2017, making Top 10 debut and lifting first career singles title at Premier-level 2017 St Petersburg (d. Putintseva in F). Passed $5 million career prize money mark by winning title  Finished season at No.11 for highest year-end ranking and first inside Top 20. Broke into Top 10 on October 23, 2017  Reached biggest final of career at Premier Mandatory-level Madrid in 2017 (l. Halep) and was R-Up at Acapulco (l. Tsurenko) and Stuttgart (l. Siegemund)  Advanced to SF at Indian Wells (l. eventual champion Vesnina), en route defeating two seeds, No.4 Halep and No.13 Wozniacki. Result saw her break into Top 20 in WTA Rankings for first time in career, and overtake Garcia to become French No.1  Qualified as first alternate for 2017 WTA Finals but not called on to play  Reached two singles finals in 2016, at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. Vandeweghe) and Hong Kong (l. Wozniacki), having been runner-up at 2015 Strasbourg (l. Stosur)  Won four doubles titles in 2016 w/Garcia: Charleston, Stuttgart, Madrid and Roland Garros  Member of French Fed Cup side that advanced to 2016 competition final against Czech Republic – lost epic singles rubber to Ka.Pliskova, 63 46 16-14 in 3 hours 48 minutes – 30-game final set being longest-ever in a Fed Cup final – as well as decisive doubles rubber (w/Garcia, l. Pliskova/Strycova)  Broke into Top 100 on September 17, 2012 and Top 50 on March 18, 2013  Played first WTA qualifying event as wildcard at 2008 Paris [Indoors]

Grand Slam

 2019 US Open marked 36th Grand Slam main draw appearance  Best Slam results are QF runs at 2015 US Open (l. Vinci) and 2017 Roland Garros (l. Bacsinszky)  Also reached 3r at (l. Gavrilova), 2015 Wimbledon (l. Azarenka) and 2018 Wimbledon (l. eventual R-Up S. Williams)  In doubles, won first Grand Slam title at 2016 Roland Garros (w/compatriot Garcia, d. Makarova/Vesnina in F) – were first French pair to win the doubles title at Roland Garros since Gail Chanfreau and Francoise Durr in 1971  Won second Grand Slam doubles title at (w/Babos, d. Makarova/Vesnina in F)  Finished R-Up at 2014 Wimbledon (w/Babos), 2016 US Open (w/Garcia), 2018 US Open (w/Babos) and (w/Babos)  Won mixed doubles at 2013 Wimbledon and , and finished R-Up at 2013 Roland Garros and (all w/Nestor)

Personal

 Mother is Dzenita (was a pro volleyball player); father is Dragan (was a pro handball player); brother is Luka (soccer player)  Started playing aged 8 when introduced to sport by parents  Speaks French, English, Serbian, Italian and Spanish  Announced new coach Sascha Bajin in April 2019

BERTENS:

Moscow  Making second appearance at VTB  Fell R16 on debut in 2018 (after 1r bye, l. Sasnovich), a result which appeared to end her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Singapore until receiving an 11th hour reprieve following Halep’s withdrawal w/back injury, going on to reach SF at the season-ending showpiece  Enters Moscow at No.9 on Porsche Race to Shenzhen leaderboard battling against Bencic for the final spot at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen  After opening round bye in the Russian capital, came from 4-1 down in the final set to see off qualifier Kanepi in 2r on Thursday  Is in second place for most match wins on tour on 51 behind Barty on 52  Having struck 429 aces so far in 2019, is second on tour for most aces hit behind Ka.Pliskova with 474  During last year’s Asian swing, won title at Seoul, made R16 at Beijing, 2r at Wuhan, before going on to reach SF at WTA Finals in Singapore  Owns three hard court titles, at 2018 Cincinnati, 2018 Seoul and 2019 St. Petersburg

Season

 Coming off QF run in Linz (l. eventual champion Gauff)  Defeated No.3 Svitolina to advance to SF at Beijing (l. Barty)  Reached R16 at Wuhan (l. Sabalenka) and fell 2r at Zhengzhou (after 1r bye, l. Tomljanovic) and 1r at Osaka (l. Pavlyuchenkova)  Reached 3r at US Open (l. Goerges)  Suffered 2r exit as defending champion at Cincinnati (after 1r bye, l. V. Williams)

 Fell 2r at Toronto (l. eventual champion Andreescu)  Reached fourth final of 2019 at Palermo (l. Teichmann). Has now reached four finals the last two years. In 2018, won Charleston, Cincinnati and Seoul, and finished R-Up at Madrid  Upset in 3r of Wimbledon (l. Strycova)  Posted SF appearance at Eastbourne (l. eventual champion Ka.Pliskova)  Recorded a final run on home soil in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, could not convert five championship points in loss to Riske  At Roland Garros, retired from 2r match against Kuzmova due to gastrointestinal illness  SF showing at Rome (l. Konta – after coming within two points of victory)  Won ninth career title at Madrid, defeating four Grand Slam champions en route (Ostapenko, Kvitova, Stephens and Halep in F). Also first woman to win Madrid title without dropping a set  Reached career high ranking of World No.4 on May 13 (after Madrid title run)  Posted SF run at Stuttgart (l. eventual champion Kvitova); d. No.5 Kerber in QF for first Top 5 win of 2019  Fell in R16 (Sakkari) during Charleston title defense  Posted R16 showings at Indian Wells (l. Muguruza) and Miami (l. eventual champion Barty)  In Middle East, reached QF at Doha (l. eventual champion Mertens) and fell 2r at Dubai (after 1r bye, l. Kuzmova - held 1mp in third set tie-break)  Won eighth career title - and third at Premier level - at St. Petersburg (d. Vekic in F)  Made 2r exit at Australian Open (l. Pavlyuchenkova)  Enjoyed SF finish in Sydney (l. eventual R-Up Barty). Marked first SF on Australian soil; best previous results were QF runs at 2016-17 Hobart  Fell in the 2r of Brisbane to start the year (l. Vekic, having held 2mp at 5-4 in final set)

Career

 Enjoyed a break-out year in 2018, reaching a career-best four singles finals across the season and breaking into the Top 10 (October 8, 2018) – first Dutch woman to be ranked in the Top 10 since Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in 1996  Won the WTA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2018  Lifted three titles in 2018, at Charleston (d. Goerges in F), Cincinnati (d. World No.1 Halep in F – saved 1mp) and Seoul (d. Tomljanovic in F). Reached one further final, at Premier Mandatory Madrid (l. Kvitova)  Scored WTA-leading 12 Top 10 wins last season. Prior to 2018, only had three Top 10 wins in her career  Also reached SF on WTA Finals debut (l. Svitolina)  Season highlights in 2017 were titles at Nürnberg and Gstaad. Also` posted SF run at 2017 Rome and reached QF at Madrid - first Premier Mandatory QF  Career-high doubles ranking is No.16 (first reached on April 16, 2018)  Finished 2016 ranked No.22 in singles – big jump from her season-ending ranking of No.101 in 2015  Played on Netherlands Olympic team at 2016 Rio Olympics – fell in 1r (l. Errani)  Won maiden career singles title at 2012 Fès as a qualifier in just her second main draw appearance; currently owns 9-4 career record in singles finals  Owner of 10 WTA doubles titles, most recently at 2018 Brisbane (w/Schuurs)  Made WTA main draw debut as a wildcard at 2011 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. 1r)  Played first event of career on ITF Circuit in the Netherlands in 2006; has won seven singles titles and 11 doubles titles at this level  Netherlands Fed Cup Team, 2011-2012, 2014-2017

Grand Slam

 Contested milestone 30th Grand Slam main draw at 2019 US Open  Deepest run across the Slams came with SF showing at 2016 Roland Garros (l. eventual R-Up S.Williams)  Enjoyed her best result at Wimbledon in 2018 by reaching her second career Grand Slam QF (l. Goerges). Became first Dutch woman to reach QF at Wimbledon since Krajicek in 2007  In 2018 reached 3r for first time at both Australian Open (l. eventual champion Wozniacki) and US Open (l. Vondrousova)  Is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist in doubles, at 2015 Australian Open (w/Larsson, l. Goerges/Groenefeld) and 2016 Roland Garros (w/Larsson, l. eventual champions Garcia/Mladenovic)

Personal

 Coached by former ATP player ; brought former WTA player Elise Tamaela into coaching team during off-season  In November 2018, announced engagement to boyfriend Remko de Rijke, who has been involved as part of her team as a physio and fitness coach  After her triumph in Madrid, Kiki reached a career-high singles ranking of World No.4 and became the highest-ranked Dutchwoman in history  Fan-voted as May 2019 WTA Player of the Month  Parents are Rob and Doré; sisters are Joyce and Daisy  Started playing at age 6. Tennis idol growing up was

MATCH NOTES MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

[Q] (BEL #120) vs. [3] (SUI #10)

Head to Head: BELINDA BENCIC leads 2-1

2018 LUXEMBOURG HARD I R16 BELINDA BENCIC 6-1 6-3 62 mins 2017 LINZ HARD I R1 BELINDA BENCIC 4-6 6-2 7-6(7) 140 mins 2016 NEW HAVEN HARD O R1 KIRSTEN FLIPKENS 6-1 4-6 7-5 132 mins

KIRSTEN FLIPKENS BELINDA BENCIC 120 WTA RANKING 10 120 PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD 10 10-01-1986 (33) DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) 10-03-1997 (22) $630,185 YTD PRIZE MONEY $2,937,555 $5,087,149 CAREER PRIZE MONEY $6,670,688 0 / 1 SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 1 / 3 1 / 5 DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 2 2-0 MOSCOW W-L (MD) * 1-1 16-21 / 199-216 YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * 44-19 / 143-106 6-4 / 75-62 YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * 18-9 / 54-33 2-3 / 57-45 YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * 10-3 / 35-25 13-12 / 128-132 YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * 26-10 / 91-71 1-1 / 16-19 YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * 4-3 / 14-10 0-1 / 2-17 YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * 6-1 / 13-7 0-1 / 5-27 YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * 9-6 / 22-20 1-5 / 12-61 YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * 10-7 / 28-38 * Updated entering 2019 Moscow QF

ROAD TO THE QUARTERFINALS

[Q] KIRSTEN FLIPKENS (BEL #120) [3] BELINDA BENCIC (SUI #10) R3-Q: d. (CAN #517) 6-1,6-4 (1h02) R16: d. (SLO #49) 1-6,6-3,6-4 (1h57) R2-Q: d. LUDMILLA SAMSONOVA (ITA #157) 7-5,6-4 (1h48) R32: BYE R1-Q: d. ANASTASIA GASANOVA (RUS #348) 6-1,6-2 (1h21) R16: d. [5] (UKR #28) 6-3,3-6,6-3 (2h04) R32: d. (RUS #93) 6-3,6-2 (1h07) Total games: 44 Total games: 26 Won/lost: 27-17 Won/lost: 13-13 Sets won/lost: 4-1 Sets won/lost: 2-1 Total time on court: 3h11 Total time on court: 1h57 Average time on court: 1h36 Average time on court: 1h57 Average rank of opponent: 61 Average rank of opponent: 49

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MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

MOSCOW Tournament History

BELINDA BENCIC 2016 R1 L - (RUS #24) 6-4 6-1

BENCIC:

Moscow

 Making second appearance at Moscow, lost in 1r to Kasatkina on debut in 2016  Following a 1r bye, recovered from 3-0 down in final set to see off Hercog in 2r on Wednesday. Has recorded 18 three-set victories in 2019 – the joint-most on tour with Ka.Pliskova  Faces qualifier Flipkens in 2r today. This week in 2018, beat the Belgian en route to Luxembourg final  Owns 6-1 record in quarterfinals this season (4-0 on hard), with the solitary defeat coming to Martic at Charleston in April  In contention to qualifying for Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. Will need to reach the final this week in order to secure her spot  One of two wildcards in the main draw, along with Kalinskaya. A wildcard has won the title here twice (Wozniacki in 2012 and Kuznetsova in 2016)  Has registered more victories over Top 10 players (nine) than anyone else on Tour in 2019  Ranked No.10 heading into Moscow; by contrast, 12 months ago was No.47

Season

 Last week, exited in 1r stage at Linz (l. Friedsam)  Reached 3r at Beijing (l. Kvitova)  Made 2r exit at Wuhan (l. Kudermetova) following a 1r bye  Reached maiden Grand Slam SF at US Open (l. eventual champion Andreescu)  Defeated World No.1 Osaka in R16 at Flushing Meadows. Now owns 4-1 record over reigning No.1s, also upsetting Osaka at Indian Wells and Madrid in 2019 and S.Williams at 2015 Toronto. Sole loss to No.1 came against S.Williams in 2014 Madrid 1r  During this year’s US Open Series, made R16 at Toronto (l. Svitolina) and fell 1r at Cincinnati (ret. vs. Azarenka w/left foot injury)  Posted 3r showing at Wimbledon (l. Riske) after falling 2r at Eastbourne (l. Alexandrova)  Was R-Up at Mallorca (l. Kenin after holding 3mp at 5-4 in second set); upset No.6 Kerber en route  Clay season ended with 2r exit at Rome (l. Mladenovic) and 3r showing at Roland Garros (l. Vekic)  Posted SF run at Madrid (l. Halep); victory over Osaka in QF improved record over reigning No.1s to 4-1 (also S.Williams at 2015 Toronto and Osaka at 2019 Indian Wells and 2019 US Open, with only loss against S.Williams at 2014 Madrid)  Posted 2r exit at Stuttgart (l. Bertens)  Fell in 1r at Lugano (l. Lottner) but reached SF in doubles (w/Kuzmova, l. Kudermetova/Voskoboeva)  Advanced to QF stage at Charleston (l. Martic)  Made 2r exit at Miami (after 1r bye, l. Putintseva)  Reached SF at Indian Wells (d. No.1 Osaka, No.5 Ka.Pliskova, l. Kerber)

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 Loss to Kerber ended 12-match winning streak – having won two Fed Cup singles rubbers (d. Errani, Giorgi), six wins en route to the Dubai title, four matches at Indian Wells  Lifted third singles title of career at 2019 Dubai (d. Kvitova in F) and first since 2015 Toronto; defeated four Top 10 opponents en route to title, No.8 Sabalenka (R16), No.3 Halep (QF), No.6 Svitolina (SF) and No.4 Kvitova (F)  Inspired to 3-1 World Group II win over Italy in Biel (d. Giorgi and Errani)  Fell in qualifying at St Petersburg  Reached SF at Hobart (l. Schmiedlova) and advanced to 3r at Australian Open (l. Kvitova)  Opened 2019 season at , partnering to help Switzerland retain the trophy

Career

 Posted fourth Top 100 season finish in 2018, at No.37; highlight was R-Up finish at Luxembourg (as qualifier, l. Goerges)  Underwent left wrist surgery in spring 2017, missing five months – ranking fell outside Top 300  Closed out 2017 season by winning 28 of 31 matches and four titles, two on the ITF Circuit and two WTA 125K Series events at Hua Hin and Taipei. By the end of the year she was back in the Top 75  Best wins of career came over No.1 S.Williams in SF at 2015 Toronto and No.1 Osaka in R16 at 2019 Indian Wells and QF at 2019 Madrid  At 18 years of age in Toronto became youngest player to defeat S.Williams in a completed match since 2004 WTA Finals, when 17-year-old Sharapova d. Serena in F (Serena also lost at 2007 Charleston to then 17-year-old Chan Yung-Jan via first set retirement at 5-3)  Struggled with injury in 2016 – advanced to sixth career singles final at St Petersburg in February (as top seed for first time in career, l. Vinci) but after Charleston (April) was sidelined for more than two months – missed most of clay season, including Roland Garros  Run to St Petersburg final saw her break into Top 10 (at No.9) for the first time in her career; became 116th player to break into the Top 10 since computerized rankings were introduced in 1975. In the last 20 years, 11 players have made their Top 10 debut before their 19th birthday  Reached a career-high ranking of No.7 (February 22, 2016)  Appeared in four finals in 2015, winning first two career titles at Premier-level Eastbourne (d. A.Radwanska in F) and Toronto (d. Halep in F via ret.)  At 2015 Eastbourne, aged 18 years, 109 days, became second-youngest player to win a WTA Premier-level final. won 2008 New Haven aged 18 years, 43 days  With 2015 Toronto triumph, became first teenager to win an event at Premier 5 level or higher since Azarenka at 2009 Miami  Victory at 2019 Dubai improved record in career finals to 3-6; R-Up finishes came at 2014 Tianjin, 2015 ‘s-Hertogenbosch, 2015 Tokyo [PPO], 2016 St Petersburg, 2018 Luxembourg and 2019 Mallorca  Won second WTA doubles title of career in 2015 at Washington, DC (w/Mladenovic), the first coming earlier in the year at Prague (w/Siniakova)  Voted 2014 WTA Newcomer of the Year after rising 179 spots in the rankings to finish season at No.33  Played first WTA qualifying event at Luxembourg in October 2011, and first WTA main draw 12 months later at same event as WC (l. V.Williams, 1r); only 15 years, 7 months at the time

Grand Slam

 Contested milestone 20th Grand Slam main draw at 2019 US Open, which she marked by reaching her maiden SF at this level (l. eventual champion Andreescu)  Other than this year’s SF run, next best Grand Slam singles result was QF at 2014 US Open; defeated two Top 10 players en route (No.7 Kerber in 3r, No.10 Jankovic in R16)  Best result at Australian Open came in 2016, when she advanced to R16 (l. Sharapova)  At Wimbledon, also advanced to R16 in 2015 (l. Azarenka) and 2018 (l. eventual champion Kerber)  Best result at Roland Garros is 3r in 2019 (l. Vekic)

Personal

 Split from coach Vlado Platenik at the end of 2018; has worked extensively with Melanie Molitor and , as well as her father, Ivan, in the past  Fitness trainer is Martin Hromkovic, a former football player from Slovakia  Also holds Slovak citizenship through her parents  Includes Nike, and Rolex among her sponsors

FLIPKENS:

Moscow

 Making debut at Moscow  Secured main draw spot here with three straight-set wins in qualifying – first time she has won through qualifying since 2018 Montreal (also gained main draw berth at 2019 US Open as LL)  Only qualifier left in the draw – best result by a qualifier in Moscow was Jabeur’s R-Up finish in 2018  In 1r of the main draw, won 12 of the last 14 games to beat Vikhlyantseva  Upset No.23 Yastremska in 2r – her fourth Top 50 win of 2019. Is now guaranteed to return to Top 100 in next week’s rankings  Faces No.10 Bencic today in QF; is 5-27 against Top 10 opponents, with last win coming at 2016 Rio Olympics (vs. V.Williams, 4-6 6-3 7-6)  Is 0-4 in quarterfinals in 2019, most recently last month at Seoul (l. Linette). Bidding to reach first SF since R-Up finish at 2018 ‘s-Hertogenbosch and on hard since 2016 Monterrey  Only time she has made a singles SF at Premier level or above was SF run at 2013 Wimbledon  Also through to SF in doubles this week w/Mattek-Sands (face top seeds Babos/Mladenovic later today)

Season

 Coming off qualifying exit at Linz  During Asian swing, made QF at Seoul (l. Linette), 2r at Hiroshima (l. Van Uytvanck) and fell 1r at Tashkent (l. Babos)  Reached 2r at US Open (as LL, l. eventual champion Andreescu)  Suffered 1r loss at Washington where she was defeated by Hsieh, the same player who defeated her a month earlier during 2r at Wimbledon  Fell 1r during grass court season at Mallorca (l. eventual champion Kenin) and Eastbourne (l. Wozniacki)  Snapped five match losing streak at ‘S-Hertogenbosch, defeating Krunic and No.4 seed Tsurenko to reach QF (l. Rybakina)  Made 1r exits at Istanbul (l. Bogdan), Rabat (l. Mertens), Madrid (l. Sevastova), Nurnberg (l. Cirstea) and Roland Garros (l. Puig)  Defeated No.19 Muguruza for first Top 20 win of season as Belgium fell to Spain 2-3 in World Group Playoffs  Made QF in Monterrey (l. Kerber) for second apperance in the final eight this year  Advanced to 2r at Indian Wells (l. Collins)  Fell 1r at Australian Open (l. Sasnovich) and St. Petersburg (l. Van Uytvanck)  Posted QF runs at Hobart (l. eventual champion Kenin)  Opened 2019 campaign by reaching R16 at Auckland (l. Sorribes Tormo)

Career

 2018 marked ninth Top 100 season in past ten years, including a Top 20 finish in 2013 (at No.20)  Including R-Up finish at 2018 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. Krunic) owns 1-3 record in WTA singles finals; also finished runner-up at 2016 Monterrey (l. Watson) and 2013 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. Halep); title came at 2012 Québec City (d. Hradecka in F)  Highlights from 2018 season include an R-Up performance at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. Krunic) and SF run at Nurnberg (l. Riske). Also lifted third, fourth and fifth career doubles titles at Lugano w/ Mertens and Nurnberg and Linz w/ Larsson  Highlights of 2017 season in singles included QF runs at Acapulco (l. Mladenovic) and New Haven (l. Gavrilova)  Posted 24 main draw match wins in 2016, the most since 2013 when she won 32 matches  Reached QF at 2016 New Haven (as LL, l. eventual champion A.Radwanska) – marked first QF at Premier level in two years, since her run to same stage at 2014 New Haven. Also a quarterfinalist at International-level Auckland, Katowice and Tashkent in 2016  Represented Belgium at Rio Olympics, advancing to R16 in singles (l. Siegemund) – upset No.6 V.Wil  liams in 1r –and reaching 2r in doubles (w/Wickmayer, l. Muguruza/Suárez Navarro)  Won first WTA doubles title of career at 2016 Seoul (w/Larsson); currently owns five WTA doubles titles  Underwent surgery on right wrist on October 25, 2010. Battled injuries in first half of 2012, including blood clots in calf discovered in April; off tour for two months causing ranking to dropp as low as No.262 in June that year  Set career-high singles ranking of No.13 on August 5, 2013  Owns two Top 5 career wins, against No.2 Muguruza at 2016 Mallorca and No.5 Stosur at 2012 ‘s-Hertogenbosch  Member of the Belgian Fed Cup team that reached the competition’s final in 2006. Also played 2003-13, 2015-18  On ITF Circuit won 13 singles and two doubles titles; played first events of career on ITF Circuit in 2001  Named 2003 ITF Junior World Champion  2010. Battled injuries in first half of 2012, including blood clots in calf discovered in April; off tour for two months causing ranking to dropp as low as No.262 in June that year  Set career-high singles ranking of No.13 on August 5, 2013  Owns two Top 5 career wins, against No.2 Muguruza at 2016 Mallorca and No.5 Stosur at 2012 ‘s-Hertogenbosch  Member of the Belgian Fed Cup team that reached the competition’s final in 2006. Also played 2003-13, 2015-18  On ITF Circuit won 13 singles and one doubles title; played first events of career on ITF Circuit in 2001  Named 2003 ITF Junior World Champion

Grand Slam

 2019 US Open marked 44th Grand Slam main draw appearance  Best Grand Slam result to date came at 2013 Wimbledon after defeating No.8 Kvitova in three sets to advance to the SF (l. eventual champion, No.15 Bartoli)  Enjoyed best Grand Slam year in 2013, when she reached R16 at Australian Open (l. No.2 Sharapova), 2r at Roland Garros (l. Schiavone), and SF at Wimbledon (l. Bartoli)  Achieved best US Open result in 2009 when she advanced to 3r (l. fellow Belgian Clijsters)  Has reached 2r – but never further – on seven occasions at Roland Garros  Junior champion at 2003 Wimbledon (d. Chakvetadze in F) and 2003 US Open (d. Krajicek in F)

Personal

 Began playing tennis at age four  Speaks four languages: English, Dutch, French, and German  Coached by Maxime Braeckman

MATCH NOTES

MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

KAROLINA MUCHOVA (CZE #35) vs. [8] (RUS #38)

Head to Head: EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA leads 2-0

2016 TRNAVA HARD I F EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA 6-1 6-3 2015 PREROV CLAY O R1 EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA 6-2 6-4

KAROLINA MUCHOVA EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA 35 WTA RANKING 38 32 PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD 35 21-08-1996 (23) DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) 15-11-1994 (24) $883,025 YTD PRIZE MONEY $774,353 $1,142,892 CAREER PRIZE MONEY $1,621,363 1 / 1 SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 0 0 / 0 DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 1 / 1 2-0 MOSCOW W-L (MD) * 2-0 25-11 / 27-13 YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * 30-23 / 48-51 7-5 / 8-6 YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * 11-8 / 15-20 6-3 / 6-3 YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * 2-11 / 9-15 15-7 / 17-9 YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * 22-15 / 35-28 1-3 / 1-3 YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * 7-1 / 7-3 1-2 / 1-2 YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * 1-3 / 1-5 1-6 / 1-6 YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * 1-5 / 2-8 3-7 / 4-8 YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * 3-6 / 4-12 * Updated entering 2019 Moscow QF

ROAD TO THE QUARTERFINALS

KAROLINA MUCHOVA (CZE #35) [8] EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (RUS #38) R16: d. [4] DONNA VEKIC (CRO #21) 6-4,6-2 (1h13) R16: d. (RUS #102) 6-1,6-1 (0h55) R32: d. (RUS #55) 6-2,6-3 (1h16) R32: d. JANA CEPELOVA (SVK #155) 6-1,6-4 (0h57)

Total games: 35 Total games: 31 Won/lost: 24-11 Won/lost: 24-7 Sets won/lost: 4-0 Sets won/lost: 4-0 Total time on court: 2h29 Total time on court: 1h52 Average time on court: 1h15 Average time on court: 0h56 Average rank of opponent: 38 Average rank of opponent: 129

MOSCOW Tournament History "-Q" Qualifying match

EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA 2016 R1-Q L - (CRO #58) 6-1 6-4

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MUCHOVA:

Moscow

 Making debut appearance at VTB Kremlin Cup, having never contested qualifying or main draw here in Moscow  Opened campaign this week by firing 27 winners to defeat former champion and home favorite Kuznetsova in straight sets  In 2r on Wednesday, posted second‐best win of season, overcoming No.21 Vekic again in straight sets (only bettered in 2019 by defeat of No.3 Ka.Pliskova at Wimbledon)  Has now won 15 of last 19 matches  Faces another Russian in form of Alexandrova today – this is their first meeting at tour‐level. Muchova lost their two previous encounters on ITF Circuit without winning a set  Is through to her second Premier‐level QF, after 2019 Doha – prior to this season, had never reached the last eight at this level or above  Bidding to be first Czech to reach the VTB Kremlin Cup SF since 2014, when both Siniakova and Safarova reached this stage (but no further)  Was one of two Czech women to contest the main draw this week (also Siniakova, who lost 1r to Hercog)  Contesting 2019 Moscow on career‐high ranking of No.35, which she posted on Monday October 10; by contrast, was No. 148 this time last year

Season

 Coming off 1r exit at Beijing (I. Keys). Prior to this, enjoyed title run at Seoul (d. Linette in F) to claim first WTA title of her career  Posted 3r appearance at Flushing Meadows (I. eventual R‐Up S.Williams)  Made QF showing at the Bronx (I. eventual champion Linette)  Reached career best Grand Slam result with Wimbledon QF (I. Svitolina)  Defeated No.3 Ka.Pliskova in Rl 6 for firstTop 10 victory of career, recovered from 5‐3 down in the final setto win 13‐11 in 3hrs 19min  Opened grass court season with 1r exit at 's‐Hertogenbosch (I. eventual champion Riske)  Fell 2r at Roland Garros on main draw debut (d. Kontaveit, I. Begu)  Finished R‐Up in Prague (I. qualifier Tiechmann)  Made Rl6 at Monterrey (I. Kerber) and came through qualifying in Miami to reach final 16 (d. Hibino, I. Kerber)  Came through qualifying to reach maiden Premier quarter‐final at Doha (I. Svitolina)  Qualified at the Australian Open, falling to Ka.Pliskova in 1r  2019 Australian Open marked her second main draw appearance at the majors (following 2018 US Open)  Kicked off 2019 season at Brisbane, making qualifying exit (I. Potapova after holding 2MP)

Grand Slam

 2019 US Open marked fifth Grand Slam main draw of her career  Earned career best result with QF appearance at 2019 Wimbledon defeating No.20 Kontaveit and No.3 Ka.Pliskova en route (I. Svitolina) Reached 3r at 2018 US Open in her main draw debut at the majors (as qualifier, I. Barty in 3r) and 2019 (I. R‐Up S.Williams)  Fell 2r at 2019 Roland Garros and 1rat 2019 Australian Open  Earned USDS156,000 in prize money during last year's Flushing Meadows run, more than doubling her career total  Previously fell in qualifying at US Open in 2016, and Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2018

Career

 Ended 2018 ranked No.145, her first Top 200 season (up from her previous best of No.208 in 2016)  2018 season highlight was making Grand Slam maindraw debut at US Open (as qualifier, I. Barty in 3r)  Also contested WTA qualifying in 2018 at Stuttgart, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Luxembourg  Reached three ITF Circuit finals in 2018, including back‐to‐back finals at $25k ITF/Altenkirchen‐GER (I. Dart) and $60k ITF/Croissy‐Beauborg‐FRA (I. Blinkova)  Also reached the final at $80k ITF/Olomouc‐CZE (I. Ferro)  Claimed maiden WTA title at 2019 Seoul (d. Linette in F)  Made WTA main draw debut at 2017 Seoul (as qualifier, I. Hon). Also contested qualifying at 's‐Hertogenbosch and Tokyo [Japan Open] and finished R‐Up at one ITF Circuit event  Won second career ITF Circuit title in 2016 and posted 39‐18 win‐loss record; at tour‐level fell in qualifying at US Open  On ITF Circuit has won two titles in singles and one in doubles  Played first events of career on ITF Circuit in Croatia in 2013

Personal

 Born in city of Olomouc in eastern Czech Republic, but moved to train in Prague this year  Started playing tennis at aged seven with dad, a former professional footballer in Czech Republic  Roger Federer was tennis idol growing up  Coached by Emil Miske

ALEXANDROVA:

Moscow

 Making main draw debut at VTB Kremlin Cup (second appearance overall)  Struck six aces to defeat qualifier Cepelova in under one hour (57 min) during 1r on Tuesday  Overcame compatriot Kalinskaya in 2r on Wednesday, which was third win over her fellow Russian, having previously defeated her in the semifinals of the 2017 Shenzhen $60K ITF event and at St. Petersburg qualifying this January  Prior to Kalinskaya win, had lost all four main draw matches against fellow Russians in 2019, against Kasatkina (Beijing), Kudermetova (Nurnberg and Wuhan) and Kuznetsova (Lugano)  Has only dropped seven games en route to the QF – the fewest of any player remaining (including two with 1r byes)  Including results this week, has now won 24 of her past 28 indoor matches stretching back to 2018 Linz  Fell 1r in doubles this week w/Sasnovich (l. Kudermetova/Srebotnik)  Faces in‐form Muchova today, and is 2‐0 vs. the Czech, having defeated her twice on ITF Circuit  Bidding to reach her debut Premier‐level SF today  Contesting 2019 Moscow ranked No.38, three spots off her career‐high of No.35 (achieved only last week, Monday October 7)  Began last year’s Asian swing ranked No.122, reaching QF at Seoul and falling 1r at Tashkent in only two appearances. By contrast, is playing 2019 Moscow at No.38 as Russian No.2, trailing closely behind Daria Kasatkina who is ranked No.37 (week of October 14, 2019)  One of a tournament‐leading nine Russian women contesting the main draw this week, with three (also Pavlyuchenkova, Kudermetova) reaching the QFs

Season

 Advanced to SF at Linz (l. Ostapenko)  Defeated Halep en route to R16 run at Beijing (l. Kasatkina)  Produced SF run at Seoul (l. Linette) and fell 1r at Wuhan (l. Kudermetova)  Posted 2r showings at both US Open (l. Zhang) and Cincinnati (l. Halep)  Advanced through qualifying to post R16 run at Toronto (l. eventual R‐Up S.Williams)  Suffered 1r exit at San Jose (l. Sakkari) and at Wimbledon (l. Siniakova)  Reached grass court QF at ‘s‐Hertogenbosch (l. eventual champion Riske) and Eastbourne (d. No.13 Bencic in 2r, l. eventual champion Ka.Pliskova)  Also on grass, fell 1r at Birmingham (l. Martic)  Produced best career run at a Grand Slam by reaching 3r at Roland Garros (l. Bolsova), upsetting No.30 seed Buzarnescu and former finalist Stosur en route  Made 2r at Nurnberg (l. Kudermetova)  Contested qualifying at both Rome and Madrid  Unable to advance past first hurdle at Prague (l. Teichmann) and qualifying in Stuttgart (l. Friedsam)  Suffered 1r exits at both Lugano (l. Kuznetsova) and Miami (l. Yastremska)  Produced a solid three‐tournament run, with a 3r run in Indian Wells (l. Bencic), SF appearance in Budapest (l. Van Uytvanck) and QF visit in St. Petersburg (l. Sabalenka)  Produced one of the most prolific serving performances on tour this year, firing 17 aces in a three‐set victory over Boulter in St. Petersburg  Fell 1r at Sydney (as qualifier, l. Stephens) and Australian Open (l. Tsurenko)  Opened season by reaching 2r at Shenzhen (l. eventual champion Sabalenka)

Career

 Enjoyed second Top 100 season in 2018 at No.93, highlighted by maiden WTA final at Linz (l. Giorgi)  Other highlights in 2018 were QF run at Seoul (l. Hsieh) and WTA 125K Series title at Limoges  At majors reached 2r at Australian Open and 1r at other three  Posted career‐best year‐end finish in 2017 and first Top 100 finish, at No.73  Played in main draw of all four Grand Slams in 2017 for first time in career and played a then‐career‐best twelve tour‐level main draws  Season highlights included winning sixth and seventh ITF singles titles, at $60k ITF/Shenzhen‐CHN and$60k ITF/Croissy‐Beaubourg‐FRA  Also reached QFs at WTA $125k event in Limoges (as defending champion)  2016 highlight was winning WTA 125K Series title at Limoges (d. No.24 Garcia in F). Made WTA main draw debut at Katowice (as qualifier, l. eventual R‐Up Giorgi in 2r)  Also reached 2r at Wimbledon (won her way through qualifying, on first attempt to qualify at any Slam, upsetting No.23 seed Ivanovic in 1r, l. Friedsam) and Québec City (l. Martincova)  Rest of year was spent on ITF Circuit and attempting to qualify at WTA events (Prague, US Open, Tashkent, Linz and Moscow)  First WTA‐level appearance came at 2014 Bad Gastein – fell in qualifying  Played first professional events of career on ITF Circuit in 2011  Posted Top 300 season finishes in 2014 (No.256) and 2015 (No.269) on the WTA rankings

Grand Slam

 Contested 13th main draw Slam appearance at 2019 US Open  Produced best career run at a Grand Slam by reaching 3r at 2019 Roland Garros, upset No.30 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu and former finalist Sam Stosur (l. Bolsova)  Made debut at 2016 Wimbledon – defeated No.23 seed Ivanovic before falling to Friedsam in 2r  Competed in all four majors for the first time in career in 2017, falling in 1r at Australian Open (l. compatriot Makarova) and Wimbledon (l. eventual champion Muguruza) and advancing to 2r at Roland Garros (l. Ka.Pliskova) and US Open (l. Garcia)

Personal

 Coached by her father, Evgeny Alexandrova and Petr Kralert, who both travel with her  Born in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and began playing tennis at age six; remembers playing on holiday at Spain. Now trains in Prague, Czech Republic  Prefers hard courts; admires MATCH NOTES MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA (RUS #42) vs. (RUS #40)

Head to Head: Series tied 1-1

2019 BEIJING HARD O R1 ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA 6-0 3-6 7-6(4) 153 mins 2019 SHENZHEN HARD O R16 6-2 1-6 6-2 94 mins

VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA 42 WTA RANKING 40 39 PORSCHE RACE TO SHENZHEN LEADERBOARD 42 24-04-1997 (22) DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) 03-07-1991 (28) $812,057 YTD PRIZE MONEY $927,339 $1,163,431 CAREER PRIZE MONEY $9,696,419 0 / 0 SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 12 1 / 1 DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 5 2-0 MOSCOW W-L (MD) * 18-9 27-19 / 33-25 YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * 21-20 / 336-254 11-7 / 14-8 YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * 7-9 / 113-95 5-6 / 9-7 YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * 4-2 / 80-67 14-10 / 15-13 YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * 20-15 / 251-170 6-2 / 7-2 YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * 2-0 / 28-29 1-0 / 1-0 YTD / CAREER TOP 5 W-L (MD & Q) * 1-1 / 13-34 2-0 / 2-1 YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD & Q) * 4-3 / 32-63 3-2 / 3-4 YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD & Q) * 6-8 / 62-112 * Updated entering 2019 Moscow QF

ROAD TO THE QUARTERFINALS

VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA (RUS #42) ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS #40) R16: d. [1] (UKR #4) 6-2,1-6,7-5 (2h01) R16: d. ( #121) 5-7,6-4,6-2 (2h11) R32: d. (TUN #53) 6-3,6-3 (1h13) R32: d. [7] (GRE #29) 5-7,6-1,6-3 (1h59)

Total games: 45 Total games: 58 Won/lost: 26-19 Won/lost: 34-24 Sets won/lost: 4-1 Sets won/lost: 4-2 Total time on court: 3h14 Total time on court: 4h10 Average time on court: 1h37 Average time on court: 2h05 Average rank of opponent: 29 Average rank of opponent: 75

Insights Follow WTA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WTA Facebook: www.facebook.com/WTA YouTube: www.youtube.com/WTA from MATCH NOTES

MOSCOW - RUSSIA | Oct 14 - Oct 20, 2019 | $1,032,000 | PREMIER

MOSCOW Tournament History "-Q" Qualifying match

VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA 2016 2018 R1-Q L - (RUS #288) 6-0 6-2 QF L - DARIA KASATKINA (RUS #14) 6-4 6-3

2014 2017 R16- L - CAGLA BUYUKAKCAY (TUR #144) 6-4 6-4 R1 L - DARIA KASATKINA (RUS #28) 7-6(2) 6-1 Q 2016 QF L - (AUS #37) 7-5 4-6 6-3

2015 F L - SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (RUS #32) 6-2 6-1

2014 F W - IRINA-CAMELIA BEGU (ROU #61) 6-4 5-7 6-1

2013 SF L - (ROU #18) 6-2 6-1

2012 R1 L - (KAZ #29) 6-2 6-2

2010 R1 L - DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA (SVK #31) 7-6(5) 2-6 6-0

2009 R1 L - (BUL #126) 6-3 2-6 6-4

2007 R1-Q L - (RUS #150) 2-6 6-2 6-2

2006 R1 L - NICOLE VAIDISOVA (CZE #11) 6-3 6-3 KUDERMETOVA:

Moscow

 Making Moscow main draw debut after qualifying losses in 2014 and 2016

 In 1r on Tuesday, won 84% of first-serve points to knock out 2018 R-Up Jabeur

 Followed this by upsetting No.4 Svitolina to register second career Top 10 win (also No.10 Bencic at 2019 Wuhan)

 One of three Russian women remaining from nine in the starting field (also Alexandrova and today’s opponent

Pavlyuchenkova). A Russian player has lifted the title here in four of the past five years

 Faces Pavlyuchenkova in QF today. Lost to her compatriot last month in 1r at Beijing, despite leading 3-0 in final

set and coming within two points of victory at 5-4, eventually succumbed in a tie-break

 Bidding to reach fourth SF of the season, having previously been this far at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Hiroshima and last

week at Tianjin

 Having begun the season at No.115, playing this week on a career high ranking of World No.42 (first achieved on

September 30, 2019)

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Season

 In Asian swing recorded SF finishes at Hiroshima (l. Doi) and Tianjin (l. Watson), reached 3r as a qualifier at

Wuhan (l. Martic) and fell in 1r at Beijing (l. Pavlyuchenkova). Recorded first Top 10 victory of her career over

No.10 Bencic in 2r at Wuhan

 Won career first WTA doubles title at Wuhan with Duan (d. Mertens/Sabalenka in F)

 During North American hardcourt series fell in 2r as a qualifier at Cincinnati (l. qualifier Peterson) and made 1r

exits at The Bronx (l. WC Pera) and US Open (l. WC Di Lorenzo)

 Retired in 2r at Bucharest w/right ankle injury when leading Di Giuseppe 6-2 4-5

 Made 1r exit at Eastbourne (as qualifier, l. Bencic) fell 2r at Wimbledon (l. Wozniacki)

 Enjoyed SF run at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. eventual champion Riske)

 Made QF at Nürnberg (l. eventual R-Up Zidansek)

 Made career best Grand Slam run with 3r showing at Roland Garros, upsetting Wozniacki in 1r (l. Kanepi in 3r)

 Fell in qualifying at both Madrid and Rome

 After opening the clay court season with 1r defeat at Charleston (l. Kanepi), reached back-to-back QFs at Lugano

(l. eventual champion Hercog) and Istanbul (l. Gasparyan). In doubles was R-Up at Charleston (w/Khromacheva)

and Lugano (w/Voskoboeva)

 Won biggest title of career at WTA 125K Series event at Guadalajara (d. Bouzkova in F)

 Contested qualifying at Doha, Indian Wells and Miami

 Made 2r at St. Petersburg (as LL, l. eventual R-Up Vekic); made Top 100 debut at No.98 following tournament

(February 4, 2019)

 Fell 1r on Grand Slam main draw debut at Australian Open (as qualifier, l. Kenin)

 Opened 2019 season with QF run at Shenzhen (as qualifier, l. Zvonareva)

Career

 Ended 2018 ranked No.115 for career best year-end finish

 Made WTA main draw debut at 2018 Stuttgart, reaching 2r (d. No.25 Suarez Navarro, l. eventual champion

Ka.Pliskova)

 Posted two QF runs in 2018, at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. eventual champion Krunic) and Gstaad (l. Bouchard)

 Won two doubles titles in 2018 at WTA 125k Series events, at Mumbai (w/Dzalamidze) and Limoges

(w/Voskoboeva). Also has titles at this level from Taipei in 2016 (w/Dzalamidze) and 2017 (w/Sabalenka)

 Has reached two WTA doubles finals, finishing R-Up at Charleston (w/Khromacheva) and Lugano (w/Voskoboeva)

in 2019

 Made WTA qualifying debut at 2014 Moscow

 Contested first Tour-level match representing Russia in Fed Cup action in 2014 vs. Australia (l. Stosur)

 On ITF Circuit, owns four singles titles and 16 doubles titles

Grand Slam

 Made her Grand Slam main draw debut at 2019 Australian Open (l. Kenin in 1r as qualifier)

 Best run at the majors was 3r at Roland Garros this year (l. Kanepi)

 Also reached 2r at 2019 Wimbledon (l. Wozniacki); fell 1r at 2019 US Open (l. Di Lorenzo)

Personal

 Coached by husband Sergey Demekhin, former coach of

 Teenage sister, Polina, is on the junior circuit and contested Australian Open girls’ singles in January

 Born in Kazan, Russia. Based in Moscow and trains at CSKA club

 Started playing tennis aged 8. Was an active child, liked to paint and dance as well as play tennis

 Favorite surface is hard

 Off the court, has a passion for cooking and her specialty is roasted chicken with potatoes and garlic

PAVLYUCHENKOVA:

Moscow

 Making 11th main draw appearance at VTB Kremlin Cup (12th overall)

 Lifted the trophy here in 2014 (d. Begu in F) – one of her two Premier-level titles (also 2014 Paris [Indoors])

 Was also R-Up here in 2015 (l. Kuznetsova in F) in the tournament’s third-ever all-Russian final (also in 2004 and

2006)

 Other notable results include SF run in 2013 (l. Halep) and QFs in 2016 (l. Gavrilova) and 2018 (l. eventual

champion Kasatkina)

 Won four of the past five games to upset No.29 Sakkari in 1r and record 250th main draw career victory on hard

courts

 Recovered from7-5 4-2 down to beat qualifier Gracheva in 2r – entered the match having lost past four

encounters with qualifiers

 Faces another compatriot Kudermetova in QF today – all-Russian encounter guarantees the home nation will

have at least one SF representative for the seventh straight year

 Appearing in fifth QF of year. Also reached last eight at the Australian Open (l. Collins), St. Petersburg (l. Bertens),

Monterrey (l. Azarenka) and Osaka (d. Doi, eventually going on to finish R-Up)

Season

 Reached 2r at US Open (l. Bertens)

 Fell in qualifying at Cincinnati (l. Diyas) - first time contesting WTA qualifying since 2011 Dubai

 Made 2r at Toronto (d. No.9 Sabalenka, l. Ostapenko) after 1r exit at Washington, DC (l. McHale)

 Also suffered straight-set 1r defeats at Wimbledon (l. Bencic), Roland Garros (l. Minella), Rome (l. Sakkari) and

Madrid (l.

Ostapenko)

 Reached 2r at Stuttgart (d. Goerges, l. Kontaveit); also doubles R-Up (w/Safarova, l. Barthel/Friedsam)

 Was part of Russian Fed Cup team that defeated Italy 4-0 in the World Group II play-offs. Won her two singles

rubbers (d.

Paolini, Trevisan)

 Reached QF in Monterrey completing only the second double bagel of the season (d. Jorovic, l. Azarenka)

 After opening round byes, made 2r exits at Indian Wells (l. McHale) and Miami (l. Kuzmova). Also fell 1r at Dubai

(l. Garcia)

 Was part of Russia team that gained promotion from Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I (d. Linette and

Peterson in straight sets)

 Made QF at St. Petersburg (l. eventual champion Bertens in 3s)

 Matched best Grand Slam result at Melbourne Park by reaching QF (l. Collins); defeating No.9 Bertens and No.5

Stephens en route

 Opened Australian swing with 2r showing at Shenzhen (l. Kudermetova) before suffering 1r exit at Hobart (l.

Lapko)

Career

 Ended 2018 ranked No.42, down from No.15 in 2017, marking her 11th consecutive Top 50 finish

 2018 season highlight was claiming her 12th WTA singles title at Strasbourg (d. Cibulkova in F)

 Other highlights were QF runs at Stuttgart (l. Kontaveit), Wuhan (d. No.11 Bertens in 2r and No.5 Kvitova in R16, l.

Barty), Linz (l. Alexandrova) and Moscow [Kremlin Cup] (l. Kasatkina)

 Owns 12 WTA singles titles, including a career-best three titles in a single season in 2017 at Monterrey, Rabat and

Hong Kong

 Notched only win over a reigning World No.1 against Kerber en route to fourth Monterrey title in 2017

 Is a winner of five doubles titles from seven finals, most recently at 2017 Sydney (w/Babos)

 In addition to reaching last eight at 2016 Wimbledon, reached a further six quarterfinals in 2016: Brisbane (l.

Kerber), St

 Petersburg (l. Bencic), Acapulco (l.Wickmayer), Montréal (l. Keys), Linz (l. Cibulkova) and Moscow (l. Gavrilova)

 Owns 32 Top 10 victories (32-62 record), most recently No.8 Bertens at 2019 Osaka

 Represented Russia at Rio Olympics, losing to eventual gold medalist Puig in 2r

 Broke into Top 100 in singles on July 7, 2009 and entered Top 50 on November 3, 2008

 Made Top 20 debut on September 13, 2010 and rose as high as No.13 (July 4, 2011)

 Played first WTA main draw as a wildcard at 2006 Moscow

 Named 2006 ITF Junior World Champion

Grand Slam

 Has reached QFs at all four majors; 2011 Roland Garros (l. Schiavone) and US Open (l. S.Williams), 2016

Wimbledon (l. eventual champion S.Williams), 2017 Australian

Open (l. eventual R-Up V.Williams), and 2019 Australian Open (l. Collins)

 One of just five active players to reach QF or better at all four majors in both singles and doubles (also Williams

sisters, Kuznetsova and Zvonareva) and is the only player to do so since 2011

 Made Grand Slam debut as 15-year-old wildcard at 2007 Wimbledon (l. Hantuchova 6-0 6-1)

 In doubles, is a three-time semifinalist, at Australian Open (2015 w/Groenefeld and 2016 w/Ka.Pliskova) and

Wimbledon (2016 w/Ka.Pliskova)

 Reached first Grand Slam final of any kind at 2014 Roland Garros, finishing runner-up in mixed doubles

(w/Zimonjic; l. Groenefeld/Rojer)

 As well as twice winning the girls’ singles at the Australian Open (2006, 2007), won 2006 US Open junior title)

Personal

 Recently began new coaching partnership with Sam Sumyk. Occasionally works with father, Sergey and brother,

Aleks

 Introduced to tennis at age six by family

 Grandmother played basketball for USSR and grandfather was high-level basketball referee; father was

Olympic-level canoeist (missed Games due to boycott) and mother a swimmer